Fidelity Investments customers were left confused and panic-stricken after a computer glitch caused some 401(k) balances to drop to zero and – in some cases – deleted the account entirely.
According to reports from different Fidelity customers, they were shocked when they accessed their accounts and found zero balances in their 401(k) retirement and other checking and savings accounts.
Customers quickly took to Twitter to report the issue, as the Fidelity website itself was also having issues.
Adam Tutusko tweeted, “Could you imagine if you went to bed last night with $1,000,000+ in your Fidelity accounts and woke up this morning to a total account balance of $0.00 with all Fidelity customer support methods down?”
He also stressed the importance of not keeping all of one’s eggs (savings) in one basket. “So scary! I have brokerage accounts at 20 different firms for this reason,” he said.
https://twitter.com/adamtatusko/status/1230216584242831360
Junior also tweeted saying: “My acct showing $0.00 balance. I thought I had more than that. Hint: you should have had that Service Outage announcement up on your website a lot sooner…a bit disappointed.”
My acct showing $0.00 balance. I thought I had more than that. Hint: you should have had that Service Outage announcement up on your website a lot sooner…a bit disappointed…
— junior (@tfestate) February 19, 2020
Guy Spann also experienced a similar situation. On Twitter, he said: “I saw my @Fidelity account and almost had a heart attack. The balance was $0. I just learned their website is down.”
I saw my @Fidelity account and almost had a heart attack. The balance was $0. I just learned there website is down.
— Guy Spann (@GuySpann) February 19, 2020
Following the outcry on social media, Fidelity investment responded on Twitter saying: “We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. For help with your account, please call us at 800-544-6666. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
What really happened?
The American multinational financial services corporation claim the incident was all a mistake. Furthermore, the company attributed it to a service outage that eliminated the balance for many 401(k) retirement accounts. Although, in other cases, the glitch eliminated all the accounts.
The company also said no customer lost any money as a result of the glitch.
Besides, the Boston-based organizations used Twitter to reassure many customers, although some posted complaints that the company could have responded a lot sooner.
About Fidelity Investment
Fidelity Investment reportedly has about 30 million individual investors, 29.6 million brokerage accounts. As well as, $7.8 trillion in total customer assets, and manages more than $1.5 trillion in retirement assets as of Sept. 30, 2019.
Besides, the Boston headquartered firm serves its customers through 10 regional offices and more than 190 Investor Centers in the United States. With reportedly over 40,000 associates, their global presence spans eight other countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Last week, Fidelity reported that its retirement accounts performed well in the fourth quarter. They revealed that more employers automatically enroll their employees in retirement accounts, and this also escalates their contributions yearly.